1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector having terminals reliably secured to an insulative housing thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors are usually used for transmitting information between two printed circuit boards. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,116,247 and 6,338,630 disclose such connectors. Connectors disclosed by the two patents each comprise an insulative housing and a plurality of terminals received in the housing. The housing comprises a pair of sidewalls and a tongue located therebetween. Each of the sidewalls defines a plurality of passageways. Each of the terminals comprises a contact portion, a retention portion, and a tail. The retention portion is received in the passageway, the contact portion is attached to a surface of the tongue, and the tail extends beyond the housing. The retention portion of each terminal comprises barbs engaging with the corresponding passageway.
Some connectors are used in notebook computer. With the development of the notebook computer, the notebook computer is required to be more thinner and more lighter. For matching the requirement, the connector has to be minimized. As is described above, the sidewall of the connector defines passageways for engaging with the retention portion of the terminals, and in order to keep the terminals securely in the housing, the thickness of the sidewalls cannot decrease without limitation. When the thickness of the sidewall decrease beyond a certain extent, the barbs of the retention portion will pierce the sidewall and destroy the structure of the housing.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.